This invention relates generally to improvements in cleaning devices and equipment for use in cleaning swimming pools and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved bag clip for use with a swimming pool cleaner of the type designed for travel over submerged pool surfaces to collect grit and debris settled thereon, wherein the improved bag clip is designed for facilitated removable mounting of a porous filter bag onto a pool cleaner suction mast to collect and retain debris vacuumed by the pool cleaner from submerged floor and side wall surfaces of a swimming pool. The bag clip facilitates filter bag removal for disposal of collected debris, followed by quick and easy re-installation of the same or a replacement filter bag.
Automatic swimming pool cleaners are generally well known in the art for use in maintaining a swimming pool in an overall state of cleanliness. In this regard, residential and commercial swimming pools normally include a standard water filtration system including a main circulation pump and related main filter unit for filtering the pool water. The filtration system is typically operated for several hours on a daily basis to draw water from the pool for flow through the main filter unit and subsequent return circulation to the pool, wherein the filter unit includes an appropriate filter media for collecting and thus removing solid debris such as fine grit and silt, twigs, leaves, insects, and other particulate matter suspended within the pool water. Although such filtration systems function efficiently to collect suspended particulate, it has been recognized that some particulate tends to settle onto submerged pool floor and wall surfaces and thus is not removed by the standard filtration system. Automatic swimming pool cleaners have been developed and are widely used to assist in a more thorough cleaning of the pool by directly collecting such settled matter, and/or by re-suspending the settled matter so that it can be collected by the main filter unit.
More specifically, in one common form, the automatic swimming pool cleaner comprises a relatively compact wheeled housing adapted to travel randomly over submerged floor and wall surfaces of the pool. The cleaner is normally connected by a hose into the standard filtration system, such as by connection to the positive pressure discharge side of the system as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,863,425; 4,558,479; 4,589,986; and 3,822,754, or by connection to the negative pressure suction side of the system as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,105,496; 4,729,406; and 4,643,217. In either case, the filtration system provides a water flow to and through the cleaner, wherein this water flow is typically used to create or induce a suction flow through a suction mast for vacuuming grit and debris through the suction mast into a porous mesh filter bag mounted on a downstream end thereof. The water flow through the pool cleaner is also frequently used to power a hydraulic drive means which causes the cleaner to travel about within the swimming pool. The filter bag is designed for periodic removal from the cleaner so that accumulated debris therein can be disposed, followed by remounting of the filter bag onto the pool cleaner. In this regard, the filter bag is normally constructed from a material capable of withstanding prolonged exposure to sun, water and pool chemicals in a swimming pool environment.
Filter bags for pool cleaners are commonly constructed and shaped for mounting onto the pool cleaner in a predetermined orientation in order to achieve maximum cleaning effectiveness. In particular, according to one common filter bag configuration, the bag is designed with a generally cylindrical open mouth connected to a mounting collar or the like adapted for removable mounting onto an upper end of the pool cleaner suction mast. The bag is shaped to define a hollow interior which extends upwardly above the mouth and then expands rearwardly. With this geometry, debris flowing upwardly from the suction mast into the bag interior will tend to displace to and settle within a rear region or pocket of the bag as a result of the forward motion of the pool cleaner. Debris retention within the rear pocket is important to prevent collected debris from falling back through the suction mast when the pool cleaner, normally operated on an intermittent basis, is turned off. Some filter bags include a releasible seam at the rear pocket for facilitated emptying of the bag. Exemplary filter bags of this general type are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,618,420; 4,575,423; and D288,373.
In the past, various attachment means have been provided for removably mounting the filter bag onto the pool cleaner suction mast, to accommodate periodic filter bag removal for disposal of collected debris. In this regard, early filter bag attachment arrangements utilized releasible Velcro type fasteners, as depicted in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,618,420; D288,373; 4,575,423; and D294,963. An improved mounting device including springable latch tabs for quick-connect-disconnect filter bag mounting is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,986.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,425 depicts a similar quick release latch tab construction on a filter bag mounting collar designed for unidirectional mounting of the filter bag in a correct front-to-rear orientation on the pool cleaner suction mast, and further wherein slidably interfitting ring elements accommodate disassembly of the filter bag from the mounting collar which can then be re-used with a replacement filter bag. While these sliding ring elements permit filter bag separation from the mounting collar for disposal and replacement, they are sufficiently difficult and inconvenient to manipulate whereby this mounting collar is not conducive for use with a simplified and low cost filter bag designed for one-time use and disposal. Instead, at best, the filter bag has been removed from the mounting collar and replaced with a new bag at periodic intervals of several months or more.
There exists a need for further improvements in and to means for mounting a porous filter bag onto a pool cleaner suction mast, wherein the mounting means is designed to accommodate quick and easy filter bag replacement and disposal after a single use. The present invention fulfills this need and provides further related advantages.
In accordance with the invention, an improved bag clip is provided for removably mounting a filter bag onto a suction mast of a pool cleaner to collect and retain debris vacuumed by the pool cleaner from submerged floor and side wall surfaces of a swimming pool. The bag clip includes quick release mounting means for quick and easy assembly with the open mouth of a porous filter bag. In the preferred form, the bag clip is designed for mounting onto the suction mast of currently available pool cleaners, and accommodates facilitated filter bag removal and replacement without requiring bag clip removal from the pool cleaner.
In the preferred form of the invention, the improved bag clip comprises an inner support collar for sliding reception into the open mouth of a porous filter bag, in combination with an outer clamp ring for releasibly clamping the bag mouth onto the inner support collar. The clamp ring includes a pair of interlocking, generally semi-circular clamp segments pivotally mounted on opposite sides of the inner support collar for movement between an interlocking closed position clamping the bag mouth securely onto the inner support collar, and a spaced-apart open position permitting substantially unrestricted sliding lift-off separation of the bag mouth from the inner support collar. The preferred bag clip additionally includes quick release latch tabs for snap fit mounting onto the suction mast of a currently available pool cleaner. The bag clip may also include alignment means of the type shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,425 for mounting onto the suction mast in a predetermined orientation, and/or for mounting of the bag mouth thereon in a predetermined orientation. In use, the outer clamp ring can be quickly and easily opened to permit filter bag removal and disposal of collected debris, followed by re-installation of the same or a replacement filter bag.